Lawmakers look to bail out NYS apple farmers

On Tuesday, Republican Assemblymen Jim Tedisco, Pete Lopez and Steve McLaughlin called for a special session of the Legislature to pass a tax relief bill for New York’s apple farmers.

According to a USDA report released last Friday, the state’s apple production is down 52 percent from last year, yielding the state’s smallest crop since 1948. The reports cites erratic weather conditions — an unusually warm spring, followed by late-season freezes and this summer’s drought — as the primary reason for the $233 million industry’s sharp decline.

The “Family Farmers and Apple Growers Relief Act” would establish a tax credit for the 2012 tax year, allowing farmers to claim 35 percent of their crop losses. The Senate Finance Committee estimates it would cost taxpayers $5 million.

S.7551, the Senate version of the bill, was introduced in June by Senate Agriculture Chair Patty Ritchie, a Republican, with 15 sponsors that include Independent Democratic Conference Sen. David Valesky. In the Assembly, the bill’s 25 sponsors include three Democrats, but it has not yet been issued a bill number.

The bill joins a long list of unfinished business from the spring that various groups of lawmakers would like to see addressed in a special session, including minimum wage increases, rent relief, and possible increases to their own paychecks.

In a statement, the apple bill’s Republican sponsors sought to contrast their bill with that final legislative proposal. “Lawmakers must make the responsible decision to return to Albany for a special session not to vote on a legislative pay raise, but vote to provide tax relief to these farmers who help put food on our tables each night for our families,” said McLaughlin.